3 children fall into sinkhole in Bicol, go missing

LEGAZPI CITY – Disaster authorities are looking for three children who reportedly fell into a sinkhole along the shoreline of Mercedes town in Camarines Norte province, police said Thursday.

Senior Inspector Maria Luisa Calubaquib, Bicol police spokesperson, said siblings Jasmine, 8, John Adrian, 5, and Jommel 3, all surnamed Sierra, were strolling with their father Jerry, 45, along the shores of their Barangay (village) Mangisoc at about 7 p.m. when they fell into the hole and into the water.

The children were swept by the waves and were separated from their father, Calubaquib said.

Jerry managed to swim ashore, a report from the town Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office said.

Search and retrieval operations are ongoing. /cbb